Louis II of Brieg; (1380/85 – 30 May 1436), was a Duke of
Brzeg (Brieg) from 1399 (until 1400 with his older brother as a co-ruler) and Duke of
Legnica
Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda (Kaczawa), Czarna Woda ...
from 1413.
He was the second son of
Henry VII with a Scar, Duke of Brzeg, but the eldest born by his second wife
Margareta, daughter of
Siemowit III, Duke of Masovia
Siemowit III of Masovia (his name also rendered Ziemowit; – 1381) was a prince of Masovia and a co-regent (with his brother Casimir I of Warsaw) of the lands of Warsaw, Czersk, Rawa, Gostynin and other parts of Masovia.
Life
Siemowit ...
.
Life
Little is known about Louis II's first years. The death of his father in 1399 left him and his older half-brother
Henry IX as the co-rulers of the Duchy of Brieg; however, one year later (October 1400) they decided to make a formal division of their domains: Louis II retained Brieg and Henry IX took
Lubin (Lüben),
Chojnów (Haynau) and
OÅ‚awa (Ohlau). On 17 July 1402 both brothers appeared in a meeting of Piast Dukes in
Wroclaw, in which they concluded with each other and the other Dukes a defensive alliance and paid homage to
King Wenceslaus IV
Wenceslaus IV (also ''Wenceslas''; cs, Václav; german: Wenzel, nicknamed "the Idle"; 26 February 136116 August 1419), also known as Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, was King of Bohemia from 1378 until his death and King of Germany from 1376 until he w ...
.
In 1404 Louis II made a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
, during which he was imprisoned by the
Saracens
file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...
. The unfortunate news reached Brzeg only at the end of the year. Henry IX, in order to gather the ransom for his brother, imposed on the inhabitants of Brzeg, as well on his own subjects of Chojnów and Oława an additional tax. The needed sum of 4,000 fines was collected shortly after; however, Louis II wasn't returned to Silesia until the end of 1405. During his captivity, his brother held the regency over his Duchy of Brieg.
Relations between the brothers (which since their childhood had always been close and warm) suffered a total breakdown in connection with the issue of the succession over the Duchy of Legnica. In March 1409 Duke
Wenceslaus II of Legnica
Wenceslaus II, Duke of Legnica (1348 – 30 December 1419) was a Duke of Legnica from 1364 (only nominal; from 1409 he reigned alone and personally) until 1413, Bishop of Lebus (1375–82) and Breslau ( Wroclaw) (1382–1417; also Duke of Nys ...
, Bishop of Wroclaw, decided to name Louis II as his heir, left him Legnica and a half of
Złotoryja (Goldberg). The rights over the other half of Złotoryja and a rent of 6,000 fines were assigned to Henryk IX. Wenceslaus II also decided that both brothers had the option to take control over all Złotoryja if one paid the other in compensation. In the same year Louis II purchased from Henry IX his part of Złotoryja. At this point, the Duke of Lubin (already infuriated by the favoritism of Wenceslaus II over Louis II) and his younger brother broke their friendly relations. Soon the dispute turned into an open war, begun by Henry IX, which occurred during the years 1411–1414. Eventually, on 16 March 1413 Wenceslaus II resigned from the government of Legnica, and gave it to Louis II.
The war continued despite the mediation of Wenceslaus II, who tried to persuade Henry IX to stop. The dispute only ended thanks to the action of King Wenceslaus IV, who forbade his vassals from fighting. The brothers were finally reconciled and issued a document on mutual help. The residents of the Duchy of Legnica-ZÅ‚otoryja were obliged to pay homage to both Dukes.
In 1419 Ludwik II obtained the town of
Krnov
Krnov (; german: Jägerndorf, pl, Karniów or ''Krnów'') is a town in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
The town is made up of town parts of Pod BezruÄ ...
for life, and in 1427
Strzelin
Strzelin (german: Strehlen, cz, StÅ™elÃn) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland. It is located on the OÅ‚awa river, a tributary of the Oder, about south of the region's capital WrocÅ‚aw. It is part of the WrocÅ‚aw met ...
. In 1413 he had already pledged the towns of
Kluczbork
Kluczbork (german: Kreuzburg O.S., szl, Kluczborek) is a town in southern Poland with 23,554 inhabitants (2019), situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Kluczbork County and an important railroad junction. In Kluczbork the major ...
,
Wołczyn
Wołczyn (german: Konstadt) is a town in Kluczbork County, Opole Voivodeship, southern Poland, with 5,907 inhabitants . According to 2011 data, it covers , and is the seat of Gmina Wołczyn. It is located within the historic region of Lower Siles ...
and
Byczyna
Byczyna (Latin: ''Bicina'', ''Bicinium''; german: Pitschen) is a town in Kluczbork County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,490 inhabitants as of December 2021.
History
The town of Byczyna was first mention in 1054 when it temporarily served as ...
to
Conrad VII the White, Duke of
Oleśnica
Oleśnica (pronounced ; german: Oels; szl, Ôleśnica) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, within the Wrocław metropolitan area. It is the administrative seat of Oleśnica County and also of the rural district of ...
, who finally bought them in 1420. In 1434 Conrad VII also pledged these lands, this time to the Dukes of
Opole
Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ;
* Silesian:
** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole''
** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole''
* Silesian German: ''Uppeln''
* Czech: ''OpolÃ''
* Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...
.
Marriages and Issue
Before 14 August 1409, Ludwik II married firstly Hedwig
Zápolya (d. 1414), daughter of a Hungarian baron. They had no children.
In
Konstanz
Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...
on 9 April 1418, Ludwik II married secondly
Elisabeth (b. 1 May/29 September 1403 – d. Legnica, 31 October 1449), daughter of
Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg
Frederick (Middle High German: ''Friderich','' Standard German: ''Friedrich''; 21 September 1371 – 20 September 1440) was the last Burgrave of Nuremberg from 1397 to 1427 (as Frederick VI), Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from 1398, Margr ...
. They had four children:
#Louis (b. 1419/20 – d. bef. 7 January 1435)
#Elisabeth (b. 5 January 1426 – d. bef. 7 January 1435)
#Magdalena (b. ca. 1430 – d. 10 September 1497), married by February 1442 to Duke
Nicholas I of Opole Nicholas I of Opole ( pl, Mikołaj I; – 3 July 1476) was a duke of Opole since 1437 (until 1439 with his brother as co-ruler), Duke of Brzeg from 1450, ruler over Kluczbork from 1451 and Duke of Strzelce Opolskie, Strzelce, Niemodlin and Olesno f ...
.
#Hedwig (b. ca. 1433 – d. 21 October 1471), married in February 1445 to Duke
Jan I of Lubin.
The death of his only son left Louis II without heirs. On his death, one year later, he left the duchies of Legnica and Brieg to his wife as
dower
Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride (being gifted into trust) by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law.
...
. Eventually, both duchies were obtained by his grandson
Frederick I of Legnica
Frederick I of Liegnitz (3 May 1446 – 9 May 1488), was a Duke of Chojnów and Strzelin from 1453, of Oława and Legnica from 1454, of Brzeg from 1481 and of Lubin from 1482.
Biography
Frederick was born in Brzeg. He was the only son of Jan I o ...
-Hedwig's son- in 1481.
References
*
*
*''This article was translated from his original version in Polish Wikipedia''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis II of Brieg
1380 births
1436 deaths
Dukes of Brzeg